The historical-artistic ensemble of the town of Torrelaguna
A Cultural
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Torrelaguna is a well-known town In the Middle Valley of Jarama to the north-east of the Region of Madrid and bordering Guadalajara. It is also famed for being the birthplace of cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros and the home town of María Toribia, who would later become Santa María de la Cabeza, wife of San Isidro Labrador. It was declared a National Historical-Artistic Site in 1974.
Nature has also been favourable to Torrelaguna, encircling the area with scrubland rich in lavender, rosemary, thyme, rockrose and broom, as well as poplar, pine and oak trees. It was not by chance that Torrelaguna became the first site of Canal de Isabel II.
Its monumental heritage is considerable: The Parish Church of Santa María Magdalena (XNUMXth C.), Hermitage of San Sebastián (XNUMXth C. ) or the Arteaga Palace or the Palace of El Infantado (XNUMXth-XNUMXth C. ), among others, as illustrated.
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The town of Torrelaguna has had human settlements in its surroundings since prehistoric times, and there are also traces of the Iberian and Roman periods. But it was in the Middle Ages, and as a fortified enclave above the Jarama valley, when Torrelaguna acquired the location and shape it has today.
General Information
The first historical data that is possessed is that of its assignment, made in XNUMX, by Alfonso VI, in favor of the Archbishop of Toledo, Don Bernardo, for the services he had rendered him in the taking of Alcalá. In one thousand three hundred and ninety, Juan II segregated it from Toledo's Mitra and made it a royal town. Enrique II confirmed the privileges previously given and granted new ones and Felipe II yielded the jurisdiction and lordship of Torrelaguna to the same town. With the War of Independence it suffered the destruction of its fortifications, of which only today there are remains of the Franciscan Convent. You can see what were two doors, one in the Plaza de Montalbán and another called Puerta del Cristo de Burgos.
Within the enclosure there are numerous houses and palaces of noble construction, most of them with coats of arms, such as that of Juan de Salinas, a Renaissance work of which only the façade facing the Plaza de Montalbán remains. In the square formed by the union of Calle de la Montera with Calle de Burgos there are two other houses of the same style, and some popular type of wooden structures are also worthy of mention, mainly in Calle Poeta Juan de Mena and Calle del Hospital. The most moving and interesting monumental complex is the Plaza Mayor, where the two most notable buildings in Torrelaguna are located: the parish church and the Town Hall. The church dedicated to Mary Magdalene is a work from the 13th century, renovated by Cardinal Cisneros in the 15th century; Its construction is made of well-cut granite ashlars and contains a true artistic treasure. Its exterior appearance is rich in volumes, mainly on the Epistle side, with a door in florid Gothic style, with Renaissance elements and flanked by two cylindrical volumes. The main façade, to which the tower is attached, is sober and harmonious. Two simple buttresses, ending in pinnacles, divide it, exteriorising the interior layout into three naves and framing the large door with Gothic ornamentation. Inside, the church is spacious and harmonious and consists of three naves. The altarpiece of the main altar is Baroque and dates from 1752. On the altar of the Gospel nave there is a Christ of profound expression, called the Christ of Health, which was given by Alexander VI to the Catholic Monarchs. The chapels on both sides contain works of art of great interest and the tombs of well-known nobles and knights. Worthy of mention is the San Felipe church, where the remains of the famous Castilian poet Juan de Mena, who died in this town, are found.
The other notable construction of this monumental complex is the Town Hall, a noble typical Castilian building, with soprtales and a gallery on the upper floor, all supported by pillars and with a pointed door.
In the center of the square a simple cross stands on a granite column, which marks the site where the former Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo and regent of Castile, Francisco Ximénez de Cisneros, was born, whose great work is so appreciated in this town , full of flavor and historical memories.
Image gallery
Photographs: web de Tourism of the Community of Madrid, Torrelaguna tourist office (Carlos Suarez, Guillermo Wolfram and Juan Guerra) and General Directorate of Cultural Heritage (Juan Carlos Marín Lera)
